It is officially Fall, and that means it’s time to bust out the reds! Normally, I would order a Zinfandel, as this time of year the jammy flavors make me crave cranberry sauce and turkey, but I’m feeling rebellious. And what better way to support my wild side then with a bottle of ‘Anarkos’ Primitivo? (Probably a lot of things, but I digress.) Though the DNA is very similar to California’s Zinfandel, the Italian climate and soils make it unique to the region. It’s like Zinfandel’s cool troubled cousin, or Italy’s Sid Vicious to our Johnny Ramone. Either way, it’s tasty. Grown in 50-year-old vineyards, it has juicy black cherry flavors with a kick of acidity and light tannins so it goes down smooth. I recommend pairing it with the Spanish sheep cheese ‘Cana de Oveja’ and a Dead Kennedys album. -Candace
Just this past week, I had the pleasure of attending and working a great event at Great Raft Brewery called Husk, Hull, & Rind. It was my first time there, and I was blown away that something this cool is a stones throw away from me. There is such a warm and inviting feel to the whole place, and to top it off, the coolest chalk art of The Dude cheersing to everyone’s health (artist credit: Joe Bluhm). So this event focused on the beautiful relationship between booze (both beer and wine) and cheese. I was pouring the Charles Smith Boom Boom! Syrah from Columbia Valley, WA at my table. Winemaker Charles Smith says it best when describing this wine, “Black cherry on the nose, Dark and persistent with layers and layers of red and black fruit, baking spice and earth. The fruit explodes in your mouth!” It was paired with the Rogue River Blue cheese from Oregon, which perfectly offset the bright fruit and acid in the wine. I lost count of how many people exclaimed how surprised they were by how much they liked the two together and how many people came back for seconds.. and thirds. Since we’re giving music pairings* now too; I’d have to suggest that this wine invokes folksy newgrass like Punch Brothers’ first album, Punch. -Jessica
*We don’t know if it actually works, but it blends two of our favorite things in life, wine and music, and that’s good enough for us.